In ancient Bagdad, Abu, a good-natured young thief (Sabu), befriends the deposed king Ahmad (John Justin) as both are imprisoned in the palace dungeon, awaiting execution under orders from the evil vizier Jaffar (Conrad Veidt), who has… MoreIn ancient Bagdad, Abu, a good-natured young thief (Sabu), befriends the deposed king Ahmad (John Justin) as both are imprisoned in the palace dungeon, awaiting execution under orders from the evil vizier Jaffar (Conrad Veidt), who has seized the throne. But they escape and make their way to Basra, where Ahmad, now living as a beggar, meets and falls in love with the Princess (June Duprez), who has been betrothed by her father the Sultan (Miles Malleson, who also wrote the screenplay) to Jaffar. Their fight for the love of the Princess triggers a series of adventures for the young Abu that brings him halfway around the world and into mystical realms with help from a towering genie (Rex Ingram), brushing up against the gods and transforming the little thief into a hero in the process. Along the way, we encounter a wide array of characters, some of them charming, such as the gentle Old King (Morton Selten), and some sinister, such as the devious Halima (Mary Morris), plus a range of color and lushly designed sets and set pieces (and special effects) that still dazzle the eye seven decades later, even in the wake of various remakes (which include Disney Studios' Aladdin). And it all leads to an amazing and suspenseful ride on a magic carpet, and a race against time to save the king and his beloved. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Colorful hooey has committed performances from the cast who remain straight faced amid preposterous situations. However you know that going in so just sit back… MoreColorful hooey has committed performances from the cast who remain straight faced amid preposterous situations. However you know that going in so just sit back and enjoy, with kids preferably, the beautiful technicolor, costumes and actors.

Pierluigi Puccini

Amazingly imaginative adventure of colorful, epic proportions. a blast if you haven't lost you inner child.

MJS MJS

This is a Technicolor adventure movie in the vein of Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks. It has all of the problems of the time and genre, namely that it is… MoreThis is a Technicolor adventure movie in the vein of Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks. It has all of the problems of the time and genre, namely that it is unapologetically childish and simplistic. On the other hand, this has a certain fun spirit that?s hard to argue with. But the thing this is really famous for are the special effects. Among the things to be found here are a giant genie, a flying horse, a giant tarantula, and magic carpet; all in full color. These effects are not particularly convincing, especially through today?s eyes, but when one keeps in mind that this was made twenty years before Ray Harryhousen came on the scene, their importance becomes clear. Also interesting is that Disney?s Aladdin liberally stole a lot of stuff from this movie like an irreverent genie, a turban wearing bad guy named Jaffar, and a comical sultan.

cody franklin

I am a huge Mike Powell fan and I was disappointed with this one. This is a early film for him and its before he teamed up with Pressburger, so I will cut him… MoreI am a huge Mike Powell fan and I was disappointed with this one. This is a early film for him and its before he teamed up with Pressburger, so I will cut him some slack. The film does look great at times and dated in other. The set and costume design is top rate and so is some of the SFX. The problem I had was that it seemed rushed and kept jumping from scene to scene too quickly. The Arabian Knight stories should be put in a 3 to 4 hour movie, not less than 2. I just didn't find myself enjoying it that much.

Wahida K

Very cute classic with great special effects for movie made in 40`s

Veronique Kwak

the best vintage flick ever made upon the theme of arabian nights, and it integrates several mythical tales such as the most well-known "djinin in the… Morethe best vintage flick ever made upon the theme of arabian nights, and it integrates several mythical tales such as the most well-known "djinin in the bottle" into one kaleiscopic story of sinister magician, conspiracies, pure first love, and junvenile adventurousness which is appropriate appetizer for minor audience. despite some techniques might be primitively edited, but the visuality has enough fodder of eye candy to be intriguingly dreamy.
the best creative device would be the murderous lutist siren with mutiple hands, such a feast for the sight, and the nuance of the exotic cosmetic design is admirable tinted with allure of mystica. it's the story of a legendarily chivalric thief who rescues bagdad with the stolen flying carpet and the allah-conferred arrows of justice. some king with ingenuin-alike male beauty falls head over heels in love with a princess who has the eyes as fair as the moon.(maybe a bit exaggerated term, if so, this role probably should be played by other actress prettier than fita benkhoff.) it's an escapistic fairy tale of ancient arabianism, plentiful of flat characters such as the king and princess who live for the eternal quest of their one true love, sabu who lives for brotherhood and freedom, only jaffar, the evil vizier, is a round character played by the idiocyncratic conrad conveidt notorious for his role as the casablanca nazi who gets prosecuted by humprey bogart.
"the thief of bagdad" is the perfect showcast for veidt to emit his smoldering sensuality simmering beneath the arabian hood who looks just gorgeously fit with his facial contour, vedit has the most mesmerizing blue eyes ever, enhanced by his virile thick eyebrows, especially as the camera draws near to the close-up of his pupils, you could sense the complicatedly tangled thouths wirling around his mind when he wonders if he would hypnotize the princess into loving him, eventually he chooses not to, then he utters with agony "i'm cursed because my eyes could only see you!"...jaffar is an egoistic opportunist who lives only for his own beneficiariness, a skepist on virtues who taunts the world right under his palm with his power of magicalness, who sneers at the whole universe thru his crystal ball with contempts....but he's a romantic steer, a man with enormously flaming passion to seize what he wants with relentless violence....jaffar seems far more sophisticated than the innocent-eyed rash ahmad...more polished with a shrewd grace of his own, and all the arabian constumes seem to exuberate a particular sense of exotic aura on veidt, and his remnant german accent is so properly tailored for this role....why can't the princess take a second glimpse at this interesting man with dark charisma?
"the thief of bagdad" has the swashbuckler element which serves good retreat for audience who still enjoy the sheer dualistic duel of good and evil, and also exotically bizarre enough to further your wishes of escapism....may you immense your being in the transparently piercing pupils of conrad veidt! recluse among them then linger.

Doctor Strangeblog

Eye-opening effects in 1961, razzable hammy acting by 2001.

Marion Ravenwood

What a hidden gem. It is one of the coolest fantasy films. It's dated, but it still very fun to watch.

Devon Bott

It's only a matter of time before hollywood does a big budget, computerized-effects version of this movie starring Shia LeBouf or Zach Effron as Abu. In… MoreIt's only a matter of time before hollywood does a big budget, computerized-effects version of this movie starring Shia LeBouf or Zach Effron as Abu. In this, the 1940 version of the film, we have Sabu in the title role that Zach Effron will one day play. Abu befriends Ahmad (the very anglo John Justin), the ruler of Bagdad who is ousted and thrown in prison by the wicked Jaffar (Conrad Veidt), all for the love of the lovely Princess (June Duprez). What follows is a fantasy fairytale filled with green screen giant genies, spiders and squid. There's also flying carpets and flying toy horses, and a crossbow that always shoots whoever you're aiming at right between the eyes. In other words, it's a movie every 8-year old boy should love (I wish I had seen it when I was eight).

xGary Xx

The effects inevitably look very dated, but this old school swashbuckler still has some moments of magic, and Sabu is one of the few child stars I didn't… MoreThe effects inevitably look very dated, but this old school swashbuckler still has some moments of magic, and Sabu is one of the few child stars I didn't want to strangle.